Kerby Anderson

You may have noticed that sometimes people who talk about the need to practice civility need to take their own advice. In the past, this has often been a problem for progressives. They talk about civility, but often engage in name-calling and vilifying others. Their dialogue is anything but civil. Even the previous president was sometimes guilty of saying one thing and doing another.

But lately, it has been conservatives who have been guilty of violating their proposed rules about civil dialogue. What brought this on has been the strident statements by some of the students who survived the school shooting in Parkland. Let’s just look at the bashing and sliming of David Hogg. He has been called a high-school bully. Some erroneously speculated that he may not have been at the school the day of the shooting. One commentator made fun of him because he was rejected by certain colleges.

By the way, these examples are from what you might call mainstream conservative commentators. Of course, there are always people and groups on the fringe who engage in what has been called “conspiracy mongering.” Those groups spread false rumors about David Hogg giving the Nazi salute. And there was the false story about one of the Parkland students tearing up a Constitution. Those stories are so extreme they hardly deserve a response. But the other examples I gave came from people who are respected in the conservative world and who speak at conferences and conventions.

The real test of civility is how you respond to someone who does not treat you in a civil manner. I think we all realize that high school students are going to say some things that are not well-informed. Students who have been through a traumatic event like a school shooting are going to say things with anger and emotion. The test of civility is not to respond in kind. Romans 12:21 reminds us, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” That is an important principle to follow in the midst of these contentious debates.